Stock Upgrades: Can Netflix, Its Development Recently Arrested, Stop Falling Like a House of Cards?

Wall Street ratings agencies set the tone for today's stock market.

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Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), the top S&P 500 Index (INDEXSP:.INX) stock of 2013, has lately endured a far tougher time of it. The online video outfit behind both House of Cards and the revitalization of Arrested Development saw its stock slide roughly 30% since just the start of March, selling off along with myriad other momentum names. Yet today shares are currently bouncing back to the tune of 1.36% after being boosted by Pacific Crest. The broker believes an acceleration in international growth, along with margin and pricing potential, can all act as catalysts. A comedian-turned-politician (now, there's a distinction without a difference if ever there was one) may have something to say about that, however.

This morning in economics, April's Philadelphia Fed Index is expected to show an improvement at 10:00 a.m. EDT. On the corporate front, a battery of earnings announcements include Dow (INDEXDJX:.DJI) duo DuPont (NYSE:DD) and General Electric (NYSE:GE), which each released results earlier. The bond market closes early today at 2:00 p.m., and the NYSE won't open tomorrow in observance of Good Friday.

Now let's turn to this morning's analyst upgrades, a group that encompasses an alternative-energy darling as well as our aforementioned Netflix.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA): RBC Capital raises its recommendation on the commodity company to Sector Perform from Underperform.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC): Shares, which slid 1.59% in Wednesday's ebullient market, are moved to Outperform from Perform with a $19 price objective at Oppenheimer. Although litigation costs are a concern, shares are seen as inexpensive relative to tangible book value.

Boardwalk Pipeline (NYSE:BWP): JP Morgan lifts the limited partnership an unusual 180 degrees, to Overweight from Underweight. Its target price is also taken up, by $4 to $18.

Edison International (NYSE:EIX): The stock gets a Buy-from-Hold boost at Jefferies. Its price objective, previously $61, increases to $64.50.

SolarCity (NASDAQ:SCTY): The alternative-energy outfit whose chairman is Tesla Motor's (NASDAQ:TSLA) omnipresent Elon Musk gets raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $75 target by Robert W. Baird. A recent share-price pullback offers investors an attractive entry point, the bank believes, especially as the US rooftop business appears to be on the brink of a long-term boom.

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